The fifth and the final ODI between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh will be played at Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong, the venue for the fourth ODI as well. And this will mean that the pitch will continue to grip and turn on the surface, making it difficult for the visitors again.

The Bangladeshi side has already won the series and are leading 3-1, but they will be gunning for a 4-1 result as was evident in captain Shakib al Hasan’s press conference. The manner in which Zimbabwe collapsed to 44 all out – the fifth lowest ever total in ODIs – it does not look too difficult, and Stan James offers 2/7 for their win.

Zimbabwe knows that it cannot get worse. Or at least they will hope it does not! In the absence of their regular captain, Prosper Utseya, they have looked woeful, and the injury to Tatenda Taibu did not help them either. Coral offers 3/1 for an upset win, but for now, the chances of that look as remote as Zimbabwe is from Bangladesh.

Tamim Iqbal’s batting has been a sparkling and he is the top-scorer in the series so far. It does look likely that he will be the favourite to top the batting in the fifth game for his side; Bet365 offers 10/3 for getting the highest score. Mohammad Ashraful (7/2 at Bet365) will know that this is one of his last chances, as he continues to fail and his place will be under scrutiny after the series. However, the one batsman I think will have a good chance of topping the batting charts is the captain Shakib al Hasan (4/1 at Bet365 to top the Bangladeshi batting) who has been batting much lower down the order after his second ODI century, but could promote himself up.

The Zimbabweans will need its top order to fire. Not only Hamilton Masakadza (7/2 at Bet365 to be the best batsman), but they also need at least a couple of the others to start getting the fifties. Taibu’s (4/1 at Bet365 to top the batting for his side) fitness notwithstanding, he has the experience to see his side through, and it is only the question of whether he will want to risk aggravating the injury for an inconsequential game like this.

Instead, Charles Conventry (5/1 at Bet365 to top the side’s batting) will be my favourite to convert his start into a reasonably big score. It is the matter of getting the start!

Tips:
Favourites: Bangladesh (2/7 at Stan James)
Top Bangladesh batsman: Shakib al Hasan (4/1 at Bet365)
Top Zimbabwe batsman: Charles Coventry (5/1 at Bet365)